Brian McDermott believes Leeds Rhinos are “ready for another surge” after getting a close look at his old club on Sunday.
Leeds showed their intent during the off-season by landing Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, James Bentley and David Fusitu’a.
The club’s second pre-season friendly took them to Featherstone Rovers, coached by former boss McDermott.
The 51-year-old led the Rhinos to three Super League titles between 2011 and 2015 before overseeing the start of a period of transition after losing Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock.
Leeds flirted with relegation either side of a fourth Grand Final win on McDermott’s watch, leading to his sacking in July 2018.
McDermott has seen enough from the Rhinos in recent times to convince him that the good times are on their way back to Headingley.
“Certainly on paper they’ve got a really balanced squad,” said McDermott, whose Featherstone side went down 30-22 to Leeds at the weekend.
“They’ve got the talent there and the big fellas to back it up.
“I know it’s only a team on paper but you’ve got to have a decent team on paper to challenge for the big trophies.
“They’ve got those boxes ticked. Now what they’ve got to do is go through the year and do that.
“I think they’ve got a really balanced squad. They’ve recruited really well.”
The sides picked by Richard Agar for both halves were littered with young talent from the club’s academy.
McDermott says the Rhinos will only benefit from the tough rugby some of those youngsters were exposed to last season.
“They (Leeds) have been on a journey for two or three seasons now,” he added.
“Certainly the adversity they had last year will be good for them.
“I think the club are ready for another surge.”
Among the pre-season favourites for promotion, Championship side Featherstone made life uncomfortable for the Rhinos for large periods of the trial game.
McDermott sees similarities between the teams heading into the new campaign.
“We’re similar,” he said. “We’ve got a decent team on paper but we’ve got to make sure that plays out.”
